Hello! I am preparing to begin a cross between the Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD) and Low FODMAP Diet, detailed in the following link: wwwDOTsiboinfoDOTcom/uploads/5/4/8/4/5484269/sibo_specific_diet_food_guide_sept_2014.pdf
(replace the text "DOT" with periods, if a mod could fix it so the link works, that would be wonderful, I promise it's not spam)
My goal is to stay in the green column as much as possible, perhaps dipping into the yellow in the case of the portion size limits. I will be further restricting my food choices to those suitable for a Candida diet, as I am attempting to treat both SIBO and a Candida-related complex. I have a few questions about the diet at the above link, which the list itself does not address. Any educated answers are much appreciated.
1) Which of the following foods are legal (SCD legal and low FODMAP)?
Buckwheat in its various forms – Specific grains are not listed on the diet, as all grains are considered illegal, but I’m not certain about buckwheat, since it is not actually a grain, but a fruit seed.
Dandelion – I assume this is illegal, as it is sometimes referred to as a prebiotic, but it is unlisted on the diet.
Vanilla beans/vanilla bean powder – I assume this is completely legal, but since it’s not listed, I figure it’s best to be sure.
Asafetida powder – This is a member of the alliums family, but is not identical to onion or garlic. Since asafetida supposedly prevents flatulence, it would make sense to think it might even have a positive impact combating SIBO.
Black garlic/black garlic powder – This is technically garlic, which is illegal, but it has been “fermented and aged to caramelize the sugars present in garlic,” so I wonder if black garlic might be considered a different food.
2) How many different foods from each category may be eaten in one day, at the listed portion sizes (I assume this corresponds to a normal food pyramid, so 3-4 vegetable servings and 2-3 nut servings would be fine)? Also, is it legal to double up on a portion size (or eat the same specific food at two different times per day) if counted as 2 servings, or is the listed portion size the limit for that specific food for the day?
3) Are the portion sizes measured in the food’s “natural” form, or the ingested form? For example, baking kale reduces its size dramatically. One could measure it in baked form, in raw form as whole leaves (not many would fit into 1 cup), or in raw form chopped up, and get three vastly different amounts of kale (maybe more when considering each alternative could be measured packed or unpacked). The same problem arises with nuts; 1 cup of macadamia nuts and 1 cup of macadamia flour are very different quantities.
Thank you in advance for any insight you are able to offer.
